NEW POLL! What do you think about Mandatory Spay and Neuter laws for cats?

[verwon]

Boston passed a mandatory spay and neuter law for all felines in the state over 6 months old, even breeders have to get a special license and pay a $100 fee to keep any for breeding. Anyone who does not comply will be fined $75 a day, until they have their animal fixed. Arnold has already instituted it in some areas of the state of California as well and is trying to get it passed as a state law out there, to help control the overwhelming feline population.

I can see advantages and drawbacks to such a law, like what if a person on a fixed income, who doesn't have a low enough income to qualify for assistance but can't afford the fees to have it done? And what will happen to the run of free adoptable kittens for those who do not wish to have to pay outrageous fees for their pets, or who just prefer plain old cats? You know the breeders will have to pass the extra licensing cost onto the consumers.

Then on the other hand, it can prevent the rampant run of feline population growth, which in turn will help cut down on the number of stray and feral animals.

And what about dogs? I know they don't breed quite as often and have as large of litters as cats, but shouldn't it also apply to them as well as other domestic pets? I have known people who adopted mice, hamsters, guinea pigs and etc. and been overrun that have set them free in the woods rather than find homes for them.

So there are many issues here.

So tell us what you think, should all states implement a similar law or do you think it will just be worthless, or too much of a hardship on certain pet lovers? Or maybe you agree that it should apply to all pets needing some form of birth control. Pick your answer. I will leave this one up for 10days!

[tlspiegel]

Ver, that is really a tough one. There's just so many pros and cons to the idea. I'm really on the fence about it. I'll wait and see what the majority of members vote and see if I can form a definite opinion. Great poll! Let's see your vote and hear your opinions.

[bestmidwest]

I think that's a great question and I can see both sides. It breaks my heart to think of how many cats are euthanized because people don't spay and neuter, but I also agree that all of my wonderful kitties came from those "happy accidents" where someone had neglected to have their pets fixed. I don't think that cost should be an issue because if you don't have the money to have them spayed or neutered, you probably don't have the money to care for them in other ways. There are so many low cost spay and neuter programs out there, and many vets would happily take payments over time.

I think that what's going to happen is that any laws that are instituted will be basically hard to enforce. I am also afraid that it will cause some people to just keep their cats home and not get their shots. If I keep a cat indoors, I can't imagine a situation where a police officer is going to come into my home and feel that cat to see if she's been spayed, know what I mean?

Just for the record, I am a responsible owner of 4 cats who were adopted from various shelters and free litters and they are all spayed. We have a very affordable vet clinic in my town. You have to go sit for a while sometimes because it's a walk-in, but they take good care of the pets at a reasonable cost.

[Debbie42]

I don't think it will work as far as the cost my dh got a cat from the humane society and they charged him for her to be spayed based on his income he told them I worked but they only based it on his disability check.

[kells3]

I don't know if people should be forced to do this. My sons girlfriends cat is 4 years old and has lived at my house for about a year. She is not fixed but had never got pregnant until March of this year. My kids were so excited to have kittens and we had about 10 people that wanted a kitten. As soon as the kittens were 4 weeks old we were going to take her in to be spayed. They have low cost spaying here so it was only going to be $40. She ended up having 5 stillborn kittens the day before Mothers day. Even though my kids really want her to have one more batch of kittens she is getting spayed on June 20th. The hard part is keeping her inside until the 20th. I told my kids that I would let them get a kitten but it is very rare to find someone with kittens. We could get one from the pound but those are $100 and I don't want to pay that much for a kitten.

[Juliannaluv]

I honestly don't think it will work. Our Law enforcement officers have enough on their hands....they don't have time to be checking vet records of every pet in town to be sure they can't reproduce. Unfortunately, I don't believe it is the responsible pet owners who are the ones having the unwanted litters and giving them to shelters. Everyone I know who has had an unplanned litter of puppies or kittens has found homes for every one of the pets.

[verwon]

Yes, I know what you mean. I worked very hard to find homes when I had some kittens, others I kept if I had to, rather than just toss them out. The only reason my lady wasn't fixed at the time, was purely financial, we just couldn't afford it. As soon as our money situation improved, they all got fixed. I now have four boys, who are all neutered.

[badlittleteachr]

Sound good if it would work, but alot of peolpe don't have the money to get it done and give it 20,30,50 years peolpe are going to flip out because we will no longer have cats and dogs. It's just a mater of time when this will happen. Maybe not in our life time, but keep this up and it will.